FranchiseVerdict
ALOHA POKE CO.® logo
FV-00104·STRONGExcellent95

Aloha Poke Co.®

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2019Website
Investment
$141K – $476K
10th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$743K
10th pct Full Service
Royalty
5.0%
15th pct Full Service
Units
17
51st pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $141K – $476K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $743K/year (median $642K). Estimated payback in 1.6 years.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 50/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 8 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Aloha Poke Franchising LLC
Parent company
Aloha Poke Holdings LLC
Incorporated in
Illinois
HQ
445 W. Erie Street, Suite 200, Chicago, Illinois 60654
Auditor
Plante & Moran, PLLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$80K
vs $92K prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one ALOHA POKE CO.® unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $743,282
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $141K–$476K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $10K–$25K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

39%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$126K
EBITDA margin
17.0%
Total invested
$326K
Payback
31 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 ALOHA POKE CO.® units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$1.5M

on $7.4M purchase

Total debt

$5.9M

SBA $3.7M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Franchisees operate fast-casual poke bowl restaurants, managing daily food prep, assembly, inventory, and customer service in a quick-service format. The model emphasizes customizable Hawaiian-style poke bowls with fresh fish, rice, and toppings, competing in the fast-casual/health-conscious segment.

CEO
Christopher Birkinshaw
Founded
2016
FDD year
2025
States available
5

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$141K – $476K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$10K – $25K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$35K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
6.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
1.6 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$743K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$642K
Item 19 type
Average and Median
Sample size
14 units
vs category median 15
Range (low → high)
$549K$1.0M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
10 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank10th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank10th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank15th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank51th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank14th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
17
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
12
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
29%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
9.1%
Net growth (yr3)
+66.7%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+150.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
5+2
Franchised units
2024
3
Franchised units
2025
2
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 9 states with active franchisees

The Territory Map

Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 9 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
8
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

50
Risk · 0-100
STRONG50 / 100

Rapidly expanding poke bowl concept with undocumented financial claims, narrow unit base, and unclear unit-level profitability for franchisees at the higher end of investment range.

Score breakdown · what drove the 50 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHNo Item 19 financial performance representation disclosed ('Going Concern: False') — cannot independently verify claimed $187,887 average net income
  2. 02MINORAggressive unit growth of 66.7% YoY with only 17 total units suggests rapid expansion without proven unit stability or long-term track record
  3. 03MEDHigh investment range ($140,900–$475,930) relative to disclosed average net income ($187,887) yields marginal ROI and extended payback period of 3–5+ years
  4. 04MINOR5% royalty on gross sales plus typical overhead (rent, labor, food costs) may compress margins below stated net income averages in mature/slower units
  5. 05MEDLimited franchisee sample size (17 units) increases statistical volatility and reduces confidence in average performance metrics

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Illinois

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
16 hrs
On-the-job training
64 hrs

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

14 numbers

Locked
(415) 972-••••
One Sansome Street, Suite
CA
(215) 432-••••
BARNEBEY FRANCHISING, LLC
MD
(678) 653-••••
SAILE, LLC
GA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

ALOHA POKE CO.® · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above